Fragmented Hearts; Chapter I
Darkness doesn't always equate to evil.
Just like Light doesn't always walk hand in hand with purity.
Xenosa laid on the familiar sandy beach, feeling the sun's rays penetrate her pale skin, eyes closed peacefully. It was one of the rare moments when Sora and Riku weren't sparring, or racing, or something childish like that. Like always, the sky was clear, only a couple of clouds dotting against the clear blue. The only sound that could be heard was the one of the soothing waves near her feet, crashing into the sand...
The illusion was shattered as the sound of presumably two immature guys laughing and heavy shoes crashing against the sand broke though the silence, leaving her to open her eyes in annoyance, rolling them impassively. A few grains of sand moved around her hair as she yawned loudly.
Craning her neck slightly to face the boys, she saw a blur of brown before the brunette slid down next to her, a split second before the silver-haired teen took his other side, both of them panting heavily, a slight sheen dusting Sora's forehead. They didn't seem at all bothered by the glare she was giving them; they both had grins plastered on their faces, cheeks dusted pink.
"I won!" Sora beat his chest proudly, smiling cockily at Riku. The latter just laid down on the sand, rather close to the girl, closing his eyes before laughing slightly, his head tilted up towards the sun, his mouth twisted into a smirk.
"I'll get you next time." Riku rebutted. "When you least expect it."
"No fair! The last time that happened I had to go home in dripping wet clothes..." The brunette pouted, shaking his head, causing spiked locks to bounce around faintly.
"You had to interrupt my peace for this?" Xenosa sighed, tucking a stray piece of pastel blue hair behind her ear. "I swear, you two..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora crossed his arms, receiving an abrupt giggle from the girl.
"Oh, nothing..." Xenosa propped herself up on the heels of her hand, tilting her head back slightly. "Either of you two dimwits seen Kairi?"
"I think I saw her on the other half of the island. Why?" Riku replied, opening one of his eyes to look at her. The older teen brushed off the insult, unlike Sora, who was protesting rather loudly about how he was not a 'dimwit'.
"Well, if we're going to be leaving on the raft tomorrow, we need to get things sorted, don't we?" She stood up, brushing the sand that had collected off of her white dress, a pretty thing that was one of her only possessions that remained of her past life. That, and a single, fully black teardrop charm- similar to Kairi's. The dress started with a thin strap around her neck then leaving her back bare, covering the front, tucking in at the waist only to flow out in various thin layers and ending in the middle of her thigh. It was decorated with a variety of belt buckles and straps, all crisscrossing and merging in certain sections. Kairi had made a dress similar, just more plain and very pink.
After she had received a murmur in reply, she left the boys to do whatever they needed to do and headed off for the small rickety wooden door leading to the other side of the island. She was slightly doubting her decision to leave; the island where they all lived was idyllic, and perfect- yet it was all she'd ever known. Xenosa yearned for more. Most people, like the ones who lived in the village a short way from the island, didn't indulge in such thoughts. She was not one of them.
Sure, she'd only been living there two years now. Sure, it was perfect in every way. But it was starting to feel stale, the beauty cracking around the edges.
There must be more out there... Waiting for the four of them to find, explore, and live in the moment.
The idea of leaving on a raft started one summer night, a couple months previous. Xenosa was laying against the single paopu tree on the sandy pier, one arm behind her head for support, while Riku was sitting down next to her, his back against the tree. They were both staring out at the sea, silent but with no necessity to change it. Kairi and Sora had already gone home, and the sun was beginning to set, crimson and yellow rays reflecting over the calm sea, rippled waves brushing against the small island they were on. An island that, ever since she'd arrived two years before, the four visited frequently.
Xenosa was beginning to drift off to sleep when Riku stood up abruptly, nearly making her fall off the branch in surprise. She managed to catch herself, however, and barely missed falling into the sea. Luckily. She was about to scold Riku, like she did often, but stopped when she saw a strange glint in his eyes. Xenosa cocked her head as Riku just stared at her, a massive grin plastered onto his face.
"Xen... Let's get off this island." He spoke eventually, his face rather close to hers. She frowned in response, shaking her head.
"How?"
"We'll find a way. Haven't we talked about this before? Getting off this boring island?" Riku took her hands in his, and Xenosa could tell by his expression that he was dead serious. Whenever Riku set his mind to something, he never changed it. Or stopped thinking about it, for that matter.
"Well, yes, but.." She started, then stopped. Getting off the island did seem like a good idea, the more she thought about it. Maybe she just didn't want to admit it to herself. And, although it was a little far fetched...
"But what? We'll never know by staying here." Riku grinned, knowing that he was starting to convince the girl. He knew her too well not to.
"What brought this on, Riku?"
"It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds... Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right? So why not go see what's out there."
"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?" Xenosa grinned back, giving in, her mossy-green eyes sparkling. "Alright. Let's do it."
The memory left her feeling a sense of happiness. The gleam in his eyes - she'd never seen one like it before. Riku was obviously not as happy as he could be, stuck here. Maybe leaving would be better, after all. Seeing Riku happy made her happy. As he rarely seemed it anymore...
"Xenosa!"
A familiar voice called out and she was pulled from reminiscing about Riku by a very energetic Kairi running towards her. Xenosa hadn't even noticed that she'd walked all the way over to the other side of the island; She really needed to pay more attention. Lately she'd been drifting, lost in thought and strangely unguarded.
"I really can't believe we're leaving tomorrow... It seems to surreal..." Kairi smiled, a blush forming on her cheeks. "I made everybody something for the trip..." The redhead held out her hand to show four paopu-tree charms resting in her hand, each of them a different color.
"This is yours. Sailors used to make them - good luck charms." Kairi thrust a pale blue charm into Xenosa's hand, a chain embedded in the end of it. "I thought they'd be a nice leaving present.."
"I-I'm speechless, Kairi..." She attached the charm onto one of the various dark belts on her dress, letting it dangle at the side on her waist. The blue-haired girl smiled widely at the thought that must have gone into it, enveloping Kairi in a hug. It sparkled in the sunlight brilliantly as she moved.
"Well, you can repay me by getting the last of the supplies that we need!" Kairi announced after Xenosa let her go, putting her hands behind her back, her long red hair shining as she moved.
She groaned in retaliation. "How did I know that there was going to be a catch to your kindness?"
"Hey," Kairi pouted, "all you have to get is some more water and mushrooms. Then we finally have everything. Please?"
The girl rolled her eyes, taking the water container and bag from Kairi. "I'll be back soon..."
Kairi squealed in glee and wrapped her arms around an irritated Xenosa. She then turned off in the direction of the raft, skipping as she went. She really can be annoying. But.. She's Kairi. Part of her charm.
-o-
Xenosa skimmed her hands along the walls of the secret place, feeling a sense of nostalgia from the carvings and crayon drawings hidden there. The cold, bumpy rocks held tales of faraway lands they'd imagined, others timeless memories. When she caught sight of one of them - which was fairly recent - she chuckled to herself and knelt down. On a pale stone was a carving of Kairi and Sora exchanging a paopu fruit; the girl's rendition of Sora much neater than his attempt at Kairi, however. God knows why the two hadn't realized the inevitable; they were perfect for each other. It was blatantly obvious that they had the hots for one another, it only growing stronger by the day.
Maybe leaving the island would give them a push in the right direction, hopefully. It was frankly annoying that they didn't act on their attraction. Both her and Riku felt the same, almost growing tired of the lovesick glances.
She was about to leave and wave farewell to the secret place, since it may very well be the last time she'd ever see it again, when a sharp chill ran through her spine, spreading over her arms and to her fingertips. The sensation leaving her breathless, she turned around, only to be faced with a mysterious guy in a robe. His face was completely covered, and seemed to be slouching; she could sense something wrong. Just like the night she arrived she could sense Kairi's purity; this figure seemed to be radiating the opposite. There was no mistaking that he was facing Xenosa though, and she stepped back cautiously.
"Hello?" She called out, squinting from the lack of light. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't make out his face, almost as if he didn't have one. It was just black.
"I've come to see the door to this world."
"What the hell? You're really creeping me out. Standing there- looking as if you're going to murder me any second- not exactly pleasant." She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.
"The darkness is strong from this world. But... So is the light. Co-existing. A very disturbing revelation." The figure's deep voice echoed around the cave, a husky undertone to his voice. He was making no sense. How could this world be dark?
"I'm out of here.." Xenosa turned to walk away, but was interrupted by the guy yet again.
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."
"Are... You calling me stupid?" The girl growled, stepping closer to the figure. He didn't even flinch.
"One who knows nothing can understand nothing. Oh, but all will be revealed soon..."
"You better start making sense before I..." Xenosa trailed off, realizing that once again the secret place was empty, the usual breeze swaying through the cracks in the rock, whistling slightly. "Oh."
Who was that guy?
-o-
A long tendril of darkness materialized at her feet, smoking and withering around her body, almost like it seeped from her pores, at one with her. The darkness was slowly taking the form of a creature with piercing yellow eyes. Long, sharp antennas protruded from its head, it slivering around as it awaited orders from its creator. It looked up and paused, as she smiled. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the creature hurdling at one of it's own. Another creature of darkness. Yet, he had a mind of his own. He was different. Maybe he was a real person before. She didn't know, and she didn't care. Humanity made people weak. It ultimately led people to the fate this person was in right now.
Her fully black eyes glowed as she sent more at him, ignoring his threats, threats turning to pleas, pleas turning to silence. He didn't stand a chance against her. Nobody did.
Embracing evil was the best choice she'd ever done.
Right as she was about to finish the weakling off, something engulfed her, something impeccably bright, making her skin burn and sizzle. She howled in pain, dropping to the floor.
Her.
She ruined everything...
-o-
Xenosa shot up in bed, panting heavily, her hair clinging to her damp forehead. She could feel the weight of the non-existent tendrils of darkness still clinging to her arms from the dream. She shuddered, wiping her arms in frustration, recalling how evil she felt... This was just too... weird. That guy from earlier was probably making her paranoid. That was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
A sharp crackle of lightning shot her out of her thoughts, and her eyes darted over to her window, the constant sound of rain drumming against it almost calming. A couple of seconds passed before she realized there was a storm over the small island - exactly where their raft was situated.
"Fuck!" She shot out of bed, grabbing her chunky boots, being more durable and the nearest ones to her. Xenosa spotted her dress hanging over a chair; she shrugged out of her pajamas, finishing with an over-sized grey hoodie for warmth. She pulled the hood up, almost covering her face before quietly pulling her window open, flinching at the rain that battered against her. Taking in a deep breath, scanning behind her to make sure she hadn't woken anybody, she climbed through the frame, lowering herself down onto the edge of the window-sill, her legs danging freely. Gritting her teeth she half-jumped, half-fell and managed to grab onto a nearby pipe without making too much noise, albeit bashing her arm, hard, against the brick wall. After making sure she was at a safe height to jump down, she did, cursing when she almost slipped over. Pulling the hood further over her rain-soaked face, she ran in the direction of her small boat, not fully realizing that the other three boats were missing from their docks.
-o-
Xenosa's narrowed green eyes scanned the beach when she arrived, instantly noticing all three boats were tied to the small wooden pier, the inhabitants seemingly missing. How she missed the fact they weren't in their original places, she didn't know, but her priority was to find the other three, make sure they were unharmed. The storm had worsened on her way to the island, a fact she soon realized as she barely missed a plank of wood flying nearby her head, millimeters from grazing her face. It was making her hard to see, but as she moved further up the beach an unmistakable blur of spiked grey hair caught her attention- he was standing on the pier, staring into nothing, apparently unaffected by what was going on around him. Breaking out into a sprint, she grabbed onto the ledge of the beach-hut and pulled herself up, running across the wooden planks and reaching Riku. He was standing next to the battered paopu tree, motionless. He had his back to her, and appeared to be looking out into the ocean, like they used to do as a source of serenity. Now, though, it wasn't fitting. Lifting her arm up to try and free her eyes from the rain, she focused on Riku. Or his back, anyway.
"Riku! What are you doing out here?!" Xenosa shouted, her voice ragged, slightly muffing through the amount of rain that was falling around them. Tendrils of blue stuck to her face, darkened from the rain, and her clothes were soaked, clinging to her skin. The silver-haired seen slowly turned around, his cyan eyes unfocused, the playful grin that never failed to be on his face had disappeared into a thin line. She faltered, stepping back an inch, her soaked boots squeaking against the ground. This isn't Riku..
"The door has opened..."
"Where's Kairi? And Sora?" Xenosa questioned, hoping Riku heard her through the wind that was currently battering her ears, as she could barely hear herself. His expression never changed, his eyes glossed over like he was in a dream, still staring towards the sky. Part of her hoped this wasn't a dream; but it felt too real. It felt slightly familiar, strangely, making her head throb.
"We can go to other worlds..."
"Riku! Snap out of it! We need to find Sora and Kairi!" She begged, taking a step towards Riku. Xenosa stopped, however, when she saw a faint black glow begin to radiate from the boy.
"They're coming with us! This may be our only chance; I'm afraid of the darkness." Riku seemed to snap out of his daze and speak clearly and loudly, standing up straight and extending his hand, looking down slightly so his gaze connected with hers. His menacing gaze, void of any trace of kindness. Reluctantly, Xenosa stepped forward only to realize that the faint dark glow pouring from Riku was materializing, climbing up his legs and spreading across the floor towards her. It reminded her of the sick dream, only this time it wasn't her, it was her best friend. He didn't seem to care that he was being swallowed, didn't seem to care as the tendrils caressed his face, dissolving his body...
"What the.. hell?" Xenosa's eyes widened as she watched the darkness begin to spread over her feet. She tried to step forward but realized she was rooted to the spot, the darkness clinging to her, dragging her down. Riku was still staring at her, completely calm compared to her incessant panicking. Moving her arms, she tried to grab his hand, but was slightly too far away. She was so close, so close to grabbing onto his hand...
She yelped as the darkness spread over her face, concealing her face achingly slowly.
Xenosa was met with a burst of blinding light, evaporating the darkness that clung to her body, the pressure retracting away. As her vision cleared, the first thing she noticed was that Riku had disappeared, the space where he had been standing empty. The second thing, was that small, bouncing blobs of darkness stood in front of her, exactly like her dream, just less menacing, was withering into the ground, popping back up into a three dimensional form every so often. They all had piercing yellow eyes, which seemed to glint with rage, the only thing discernible in a sea of black. Out of nowhere, one of them flung itself at her, scratching her cheek rather deeply, the place where it's claws dug stinging like they'd been laced with poison. Xenosa cried out in pain, wiping the blood off her cheek, feeling it dribble down to her chin. All of the other 'creatures' suddenly turned what seemed like their heads to face her, as another jumped at her, it's sharp claws ready to dig into whatever flesh they could get. In retaliation, she kicked it square in the eyes, watching it wisp away into darkness.
The third thing she noticed was that she storm had picked up.
"That was easy enough..." The girl smirked, raising her fists. "Do any of you other freaky things want to try me?"
A light flashed, momentarily blinding her- as soon as it had arrived, however, it had gone, and it was replaced with something heavy in her hand, almost making her topple to the side with it's weight. When the blue-haired girl looked down, she saw a rather large key-like object and gasped in surprise, admiring it.
It felt strangely familiar, almost like it was normal to have this sort of weapon in her head, all this time she'd lost a part of herself and this was it returning to her, filling her with power.
It was a completely black weapon, with jagged edges swirling around the handle. It started out like a sword, but near the end jagged points stuck out to make a very good thing to deal some damage with. Swinging it, testing its range, she accidentally hit one of the moving shadows on the head, sending it flying before it evaporated into nothingness. Smirking, she got into a fighting stance and waited for the creature's move.
Like clockwork, they all in turn launched themselves at her, a swarm of black and yellow, the girl retaliating by swinging the weapon forcefully into their bodies, enjoying the thrill that came with each of their bodies evaporating into thin air. One of the shadows tried to sneak at the side, but was unable to dodge the key, momentarily stunned before Xenosa finished it off in a flash. When they'd all gone, she looked back at her weapon again, cocking her head in thought. She was panting lightly, droplets of water continuing to drop off her head in a steady manner as the rain continued to plummet, wind whipping around her.
'Keyblade...'
"This is.. a keyblade?"
Another pounced at her and she attempted to push it off but it dug into her arms, drawing a scream from her lips. She felt the Keyblade disappear from her grasp from the surprise, the loss of it so profound it stunned her. They soon swarmed at her feet and the girl flinched, closing her eyes tightly and expecting pain but none came. When she opened them, a panting Kairi was standing in front of her, a weapon similar to her Keyblade in her hand, hair dripping wet even with the hood of her dress pulled up. The weapon was an unusual one, the handle a long pole with two pieces of metal shaped and curved into a heart, a small chain hanging off the edge with a paopu fruit hanging from the edge. Vines from the makeshift heart curled around the middle, extending to a key-like end, flowers decorating the hilt. While Xenosa's seemed dark, powerful and strong, Kairi's seemed dainty, pretty yet deadly.
"Are you okay?" Kairi pressed, her blue eyes wide and worried. Although she could still feel the rain pattering against the wounds in her arm, Xenosa nodded, looking to the weapon. "Before you ask, I don't know. I-I was looking for Sora, and, wait, have you seen Riku? I can't find either of them anywhere-"
"Keyblade." Xenosa stated, ignoring Kairi's question.
The redhead frowned, lifting her weapon up slightly as she glanced at it. "What?"
"It's a Keyblade." Before she could summon her own, however, a sharp pain radiated through Xenosa's head and she fell to the ground, unconscious.
-o-
"Uhh..." She groaned, rolling over onto her back. She could feel the wind battering into her body, almost blocking out all of her hearing, various wounds on her body stinging intensely. She could still feel the fresh blood on her arms and cheek. A pounding headache made it hard for her to stay conscious, but she fought the drowsiness and attempted to open her eyes and sit up.
To which she instantly regretted that decision.
Most of the island had disappeared, only leaving a small piece of sand where she was currently sitting. From what she could see, a massive black ball towered over her, sucking the island right into it. As she watched, frozen from the sight, planks of wood and branches swirled around her and got sucked into the hole, disappearing completely. When she looked back down however, she left out a strangled gasp. Right across from her was a gigantic creature with those exact same yellow eyes that she'd seen prior, but instead of being less than a quarter of the size of Luna, this was at least four times taller than her. And it looked pissed, stomping around like it was looking for a target. Within a couple of seconds it noticed her and made it's way towards the figure.
She narrowly avoided a fatal attack by rolling out of the way, but the action sent a wave of dizziness her way, her head still painful. Fighting it off, she struggled to her feet, noticing any and all traces of Kairi had gone. All that was left was the small patch of ground her and the being was standing on; one or two small palm trees were sticking out of the ground, leaves flapping around in the storm and a bush sat near the edge of the patch of ground they were on, barely holding on to the small amount of ground that was left. The town had disappeared. The ocean had gone.
'Keyblade...'
There was only one clear way to fight the thing in front of her... Closing her eyes, she willed the weapon to appear in her hand. The creature stepped closer. Imagined the feel of the metal between her fingers. The creature raised both of its arms. The power sizzling through her blood... The creature brought it's arms down.
Xenosa opened her eyes, the black Keyblade springing to life, sending a burst of energy outwards. This visibly stunned the thing, and she took the opportunity to take a few hits at it. Swinging with all her might, she brought the Keyblade down repeatedly, but to no avail. Nothing was affecting it, the blows doing nothing.
A sudden memory clicked in her head, stunning and vivid, full of colour. She was somewhere bright, with a lot of white, a memory of when she was young- maybe eight or nine years old, give or take. She was outside, sitting on vibrant green grass, surrounded by three figures. A teenage woman with blue hair, similar to hers but darker, dueled with a man around her age, his hair a dark brown. They were fighting, but both smiling. Xenosa turned to the boy next to her; he looked younger than the other two but with a startling similarity to Sora, except with blonde hair. He smiled at her awe.
"They've been training so hard to become Keyblade Masters... One day, we'll all be Masters. Protecting people."
The blue haired woman flipped in the air, over the stunned man, and pushed her Keyblade lightly into his back, grinning as he slumped in defeat, his Keyblade disappearing.
"I won!" She giggled, turning to the young girl, her bright blue eyes sparkling. "See, Xenosa? You have to surprise the enemy. Do the unexpected. Always look for their weak spot."
The soft, kind voice echoed in mind and she took took the risk, running at the creature and jumping onto its arm, bracing herself as it moved to try and get her to fall off. It went to swing for her, it's claws ready, but she was too quick and ran up the length of it's arm, whacking it's head a few times before plunging the Keyblade into a spot above it's ear, smiling as it stilled, going limp.
'Always look for a weak spot. Everybody has one. It's just the matter of finding it.'
What she didn't account for, however, was that it would have the same fate as all the other creature's she'd killed. That thought never occurred to her, but now she felt dense for not realizing it.
The shoulder that she had been standing on evaporated, it's body turning into mere black smoke and she landed hard on the sand with a thud, blacking out for the second time that night, her Keyblade loudly clattering to the ground next to her before disappearing into thin air, only leaving behind a few sparkles of darkness.
Follow, favorite or review if you liked? I wrote more on this chapter than I usually do- got carried away with writing, I guess.
